THE RULERS OF EGYPT's 26th Dynasty contended with the prospect of foreign invasion from the start. The initial threat came from the Assyrians to the northeast, but the dynasty's founder, Psamtik I, made a strategic alliance with them. While playing the part of the loyal vassal, the pharaoh expanded from his power center in the Nile Delta to control all of Egypt, fortifying his armed forces with Greek mercenaries. Next on the horizon were the Babylonians, local rivals T 25th (Nubian) D to the Assyrians, whom the Egyp- REIGN DAT tians helped keep at bay by sending reinforcements. From the south, the Nubians, who had ruled Egypt as the 25th Dynasty, attempted to reclaim control, but were rebuffed. During the rule of the pharaoh Amasis, the Babylonians continued to pose a problem, though a manageable one.
Meanwhile, an empire the likes of which had never been seen before was amassing power and expanding from its core in present-day Iran. By 530 B.C., the Persian Achaemenid Empire controlled territory from the Aegean Sea to the Hindu Kush mountains. Amasis hired more Greek mercenaries and built up his naval forces, but when he died in 526 B.C. and was succeeded by his untried son, Psamtik III, the Persian king Cambyses struck quickly and added Egypt to the empire's holdings.
This story is from the May/June 2023 edition of Archaeology.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May/June 2023 edition of Archaeology.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Very Close Encounter
New research has shown that human figures painted in red on a rock art panel in central Montana depict individuals engaged in a life-or-death encounter during an especially fraught historical moment.
A Sword for the Ages
A zigzag pattern, now tinged with the green-blue patina of oxidized metal, adorns the octagonal hilt of a rare sword dating to the Middle Bronze Age in Germany (1600-1200 B.C.) that was recently excavated in the Bavarian town of Nördlingen.
Ancient Egyptian Astrology
For centuries, layers of soot have coated the ceilings and columns in the entrance hall of Egypt's Temple of Esna. Now, an Egyptian-German team of researchers, led by Hisham El-Leithy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Christian Leitz of the University of Tübingen, is restoring the temple's vibrant painted reliefs to their original brilliance.
BRONZE AGE POWER PLAYERS
How Hittite kings forged diplomatic ties with a shadowy Greek city-state
RITES OF REBELLION
Archaeologists unearth evidence of a 500-year-old resistance movement high in the Andes
Secrets of Egypt's Golden Boy
CT scans offer researchers a virtual look deep inside a mummy's coffin
When Lions Were King
Across the ancient world, people adopted the big cats as sacred symbols of power and protection
UKRAINE'S LOST CAPITAL
In 1708, Peter the Great destroyed Baturyn, a bastion of Cossack independence and culture
LAPAKAHI VILLAGE, HAWAII
Standing beside a cove on the northwest coast of the island of Hawaii, the fishing village of Lapakahi, which is surrounded by black lava stone walls, was once home to generations of fishers and farmers known throughout the archipelago for their mastery of la'au lapa'au, or the practice of traditional Hawaiian medicine. \"
A MORE COMFORTABLE RIDE
Although the date is much debated, most scholars believe people 5,000 years ago. For thousands of years after that, they did so without saddles. \"In comparison with horse riding, the development of saddles began relatively late, when riders began to care more about comfort and safety in addition to the horse's health,\" says University of Zurich archaeologist Patrick Wertmann.